HONG KONG In 1997 Hong Kong ceased to be a British Colony and came under the general administrative control of China. Today it retains its unique economic and social systems and currency but China has control of defence and foreign policy. John McCarthy talks to children’s author Anthony Horowitz and writer Susanna Hoe about Hong Kong and how it’s changed for the traveller since 1997.
FRIENDS AND COASTS Over the last two years, John Plummer, author of Islands and Lifelines explored the coast of Britain and Ireland in the company of important friends from across his life. He describes the extraordinary landscapes he found on his journeys and the benefits of sharing this time with friends and discovering new and surprising things about them.
Anthony Horowitz is a children’s and adult writer, well known for his Alex Rider series of teen spy novels and his TV series Foyle’s War. His latest book, Necropolis is book 4 of a series called The Power of Five and is set predominantly in Hong Kong.
Anthony spent some time there researching the book and he talks about his impressions of Hong Kong through the eyes of traveller and researcher.
Necropolis – The Power of Five Publisher: Walker ISBN-10: 1844286223 ISBN-13: 978-1844286225
Susanna Hoe is a writer and women’s historian. Susanna lived in Hong Kong for ten years and regularly travels back to the city. She has published several books, mainly about foreign women in the region. Amongst them are The Private Life of Old Hong Kong; Women at the Siege, Peking 1900; In Chinese Footprints: Exploring Women's History in China.
Susanna likes to explore the links between the past and the present, how women activists can pick up the baton handed them by their forebears. Her latest book is the story of her own time in Hong Kong between 1987 and 1997.
Watching the Flag Come Down: An Englishwoman in Hong Kong, 1987-97 Publisher: Holo Books Oxford ISBN-10: 0954405676 ISBN-13: 978-0954405670
John Plummer is a former teacher and an enthusiast of residential and outdoor education. He has always loved islands for their romantic and exciting nature. Some years ago he walked the South West Coast Path with his son.
His first book entitled Islands and Lifelines recounts his trips around the coast of Britain and Ireland each made in the company of a friend. Together they celebrate travel and friendship, sharing memories of childhood and growing up and on the way re-discovering familiar places near to home.
Islands and Lifelines: Exploring the Dramatic Fringes of Britain and Ireland Publisher: Matador ISBN-10: 1906510938 ISBN-13: 978-1906510930
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PRESENTER BIOGRAPHIES
John McCarthy is a widely travelled journalist and presenter with a particular interest in the Middle East.
